Jonathan Ross joins Microsoft Studios as an executive producer

Chat show host Jonathan Ross is to join Microsoft Studios as an executive producer, Microsoft have announced.

Ross, of course, is best well known for presenting his Saturday night ITV chat show – and for having previously upset Andrew Sachs.

It’s not immediately clear what Ross and his business partner Georg Backer will be doing with Microsoft – though thankfully it’s the interesting videogames making part of Microsoft that they’re joining, and not, say, the Microsoft Office team (lest I feel compelled to make some mean-spirited jokes about the spell checker). This isn’t as bizarre as it sounds – Ross has previous gaming experience. His company previously built the iPhone game Catcha Chatcha Aliens, and Ross himself lent his voice to both Halo 3 and Fable 3.

Lee Schuneman, who’s head of Lift London – one of Microsoft Studios, er, studios said: “Microsoft Studios is focused on creating the best in class cross-media entertainment, with Lift London specifically looking at creating IP across multiple channels. Jonathan will be a huge asset for us as he really knows how to connect to mass audiences with an impressive understanding for audience tastes and trends”.

When translated into something a human being might actually say, it suggests that Ross will be consulting on ideas that will enable games to work not just on the Xbox One but on other platforms too. I wonder if this could lead to more experiments like 1vs100, the online live quiz show for the Xbox 360? Or maybe given the Xbox One’s heavy focus on TV as well as gaming – if we might see some sort of TV show that interacts with gamers, somehow?

And don’t worry Sony – even though Microsoft how now snapped up Jonathan Ross there’s always, er, his brother Paul Ross you could have?